Lakers & the NFL

January 13th, 2008, 6:18 pm · Post a Comment · posted by KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

LOS ANGELES — There was a lot of pride emanating from Lamar Odom, a New York native, and Luke Walton, a San Diego native, after the upset victories by the Giants and the Chargers earlier in the day. Odom went so far as to bring a Giants jersey to hang in his locker. (Of course, it only appeared after the Giants’ victory over the Cowboys was sealed.)

Derek Fisher, a Cowboys fan, was on the losing end … as was fellow Cowboys diehard Carlos Maples, the longtime Lakers locker-room attendant. To his credit, Maples endured his ribbing with a smile.

Even though when Kobe Bryant (an Eagles fan, which I suppose counts as a non-Cowboys fan … although Bryant’s respect for the Patriots is obvious these days) arrived in the locker room, he immediately sought out Maples for some trash talk.

“Come into my office,” Bryant said to Maples, referring to the training room.

Odom was hopeful enough to look ahead already to the Super Bowl … if the Giants can beat the Packers and qualify, Odom could enjoy the game in his hometown of New York. The Lakers will be in town then to play the Nets.

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